Party And Prejudice

10. Tara And The Wedding Dream

Early on Friday morning, way before the activities started Reyansh, Josh and I went jogging. Josh could run much faster than Reyansh and me. We both struggled to catch up with him. After two rounds around the resort, I could barely keep up with the guys so we sat down for a minute. I bent down to tie back the laces of the jogging shoes, I had borrowed from Riya.

"So what about Zoya bro?", Reyansh asked.

I looked up automatically hearing Zoya's name.

"What about her?", Josh asked.

"I don't know, do you love her or something?"

"I don't know, she is friendly and all but doesn't seem actually interested. What do you think?"

"I don't know man..."

I don't know, I don't know, I don't know... Was this how boys discussed relationships? It was like nobody knew anything. But that would explain a lot of things.

•••

When we came back from the jog, I saw someone I'd been curious about. Lakshan's mother. She was not beautiful in the typical sense but she was really fit. She wore a purple salwar kameez with some white bangles on one hand. She had applied some makeup and also wore four inch heels. She looked more like Laksh's older sister.

Riya too was standing there looking highly interested with Laksh's mom. Before the jog, she had told me that we had run out of craft materials for the kids activities. The management had told us that they wouldn't be able to give us any more.

"Get me some lemon juice. I just had an eighteen hour flight for Godsake", Lakshan's mom was telling one of the servants. Okay, her husband was the owner of the resort but she had more attitude.

I saw Lakshan hovering around her looking eager to talk. The servant arrived with a lemon juice in less than half a minute, "Tara madam, here you go", he said.

Tara took the glass and turned to her son.

"Your hair is getting much too long Lakshan", she said in a completely different soft voice "I thought you were Sulochana for a moment when you came in".

"Ma, please talk like someone who just came back from America. Give me the freedom of choice."

Tara scratched her head, looking distracted, "What is freedom of choice? By the way, where is your father?"

Before Laksh could answer, Revathi came running into the hall as fast as her plump legs could carry her, "Madam, it is so good to see you", she said sycophantically, "How was your flight?"

"Not bad, Revathi. Where is my husband?"

"Madam, sir is in his cabin", Revathi said.

"Okay I'll go see him", Tara said as she moved out of the hall, "When I come back you must have got a trim Laksh!"

"Ma, wait you should hear what he's been making me do... I'm no longer allowed inside our penthouse..."

But Tara was already gone. Laksh huffed and walked away in the opposite direction. Riya turned back to me after he had completely disappeared.

"So about the craft materials...", she began.

"Remembered, have you?", I asked sceptically "I thought you were going to run after Lakshan's mother".

"Don't be stupid. Anyway, look, I don't want to spend our own money for this thing..let's ask Revathi", Riya said.

"And she'll just pull out currency notes and hand it over to you, will she? Your brains are something else, Riya. I should touch your divine feet and become your disciple".

"Okay, stop fighting both of you", Zoya said "Mishti there's no harm in trying right?"

"And what will you tell Revathi?", I asked.

"Leave that to me", Riya said.

"Only hundred aunty?", Riya asked looking at the currency note, Revathi had pulled out from her blouse and placed on her palm.

We were cutting vegetables for the day's session before the kids arrived and Riya had jumped on Revathi when she came to inspect some cleaning work. We had decided to do with whatever materials we had, for the moment.

Revathi looked outraged, "How much more will you give for darshan in a temple?"

"Hundred is really too less aunty", Riya argued.

"Is it?", asked Revathi "Okay do me a favour. Walk out of the resort, go straight for hundred metres, take right and then take the second left, go straight for another few feet and stop there".

"What?", Riya asked. Even I looked up from the potatoes I was peeling.

"The fish market is there. You can bargain to your heart's content", Revathi said.

"Ha ha ha. Aunty had such a good sense of humour, doesn't she Mish?", Riya said.

I didn't trust myself to speak and continued peeling the potatoes.

"Come on aunty. Be generous. The money is for deity worship", Riya coaxed.

"I believe in only one deity. Lakshmi - the Goddess of wealth", Revathi said.

"You look like Goddess Lakshmi, aunty. So divine and graceful", Riya simpered.

"Get lost you monkey".

"Aunty, do you really think we will deceive you?"

"Of course you will, monkey. I know you teenage girls of today, too well. All you do is lie, cheat, run off with some boys and give tremendous headaches to elders."

In the end, Revathi refused to part with even a single rupee. She even took back the hundred rupees she had given. Smart woman. Riya came back, dejected. To cheer her up, Zoya and I decided to put our shares of the money to get the materials.

But Riya wouldn't listen and kept on yapping about humanitarianism. All of us in the room switched off mentally and continued doing our thing.

I moved from the potatoes to the capsicums when someone knocked from downstairs.

I dropped my knife and ran down, eager to get away from Riya.

It was one of the guys who worked in the resort. He had generously come to ask if we need anything to eat.

I was about to answer when Riya started screaming at the top of her voice from above, "Is it the temple priest or what? Has he come to arrange a wedding date for you and Reyansh? Just ask him to leave".

How on earth can Riya make ridiculous comments like this, infront of a stranger?

"Listen, we don't need anything", I told the guy who seemed happy to scurry off.

I went back to the chopping board and found Riya's words echoing in my head. She and Zoya had always thought that me ending up with Reyansh was the obvious eventuality.

Not that I thought differently. But it was not like I had ever considered getting married or something to Reyansh either. The possibility suddenly seemed very stupid. I couldn't even picture telling my parents about Reyansh. At least, not in the near future.

I imagined Reyansh in his wedding outfit, some ten years later, getting married to a strange girl. He looked regal, like a prince. A little bored of all the rituals but very handsomely so. I tried to give a face to the girl next to him and for no reason at all, Sulochana flashed into my mind.

I stopped my imagination there and started chopping the capsicum with renewed ferocity.